Although it isn’t inclined to brag of its superiority, especially in combat, it is dismissive of its opponents’ efforts and insulting of their abilities and failures. It considers itself the center of the world, in a narcissistic way of course the clan of duergar moving into its territory is because a rival is trying to oust it, of course the gang of adventurers in its lair were sent to kill it by a cowardly rival, and so on, because it is the perfect example of beholderness and all other creatures ar e jealous.Ī beholder’s arrogance is a prominent aspect of its personality. Most of a beholder’s mental activity is devoted to unearthing plots against itself (real or imaginary), planning attacks against known rivals, and preparing its defenses against all possible threats. A beholder’s true rivals are other beholders, for only another beholder has the intellect, power, and magic to threaten another of its kind. An intelligent creature is seen as food or a potential minion. Unintelligent foes are regarded as food or pets. Despotic PerspectiveĪ beholder believes it is superior to all other entities. In any case, the beholder’s reaction is calculated, because it has thought about what it and its minions must do in response to every situation. It doesn’t matter if invading adventurers arrive at its lair with summoned angel allies or enslaved demons, by breaking through the floor, by teleporting or riding dinosaurs, or girded with layers of magical defenses and armed with advanced weapons. By thinking of all these possibilities-however implausible they might be-and extrapolating its own actions in response, a beholder is truly prepared for any situation and has a strategy to coun teract it.Ī beholder has plans on top of plans, even for the least likely circumstances. Where another creature would ignore the occurrence of two seemingly unrelated events as merely coincidental, a beholder imagines multiple ways they could be related, finding or fabricating a pattern out of supposed or actual randomness. If a human acted this way, the constant vigilance and lack of truly peaceful rest would lead to a dangerous level of psychosis, but a beholder’s mind accepts this attitude as normal and necessary-it is always alert to the possibility of assassination or betrayal by unknown threats that stand ready to pounce on the beholder the instant it lets its g uard down.Ĭomplementing this ever-present, passive paranoia is the beholder’s genius-level intelligence. Even when it sleeps, its smaller eyes remain open, scanning its lair for threats. It is always looking for concealed attackers.
Inhuman IntellectĪ beholder sees in all directions.
To call this process reproduction would be inaccurate, because in most cases the old and new beholders fight to the death-a fact for which the rest of the world is thankful. As a result, on rare occasions when a beholder dreams of another beholder, the dream-reality becomes warped and takes on physical form, becoming another actual beholder. Instead, a beholder’s mind remains semiconscious even as it dreams. In addition, beholders don’t truly sleep when they rest. While a human tyrant might be rightfully paranoid about unperceived threats, a beholder is paranoid even though it perceives everything, because that attitude is the natural companion to eternal vigilance.īeholders are among the few creatures that can shape reality in their vicinity. This way of thinking could be interpreted as a form of paranoia-and if so, it would be the most extreme form imaginable. The mind of a beholder is powerful and versatile enough that it can envision literally any possibility, and it prepares accordingly, making it virtually impossible for any invaders to catch it unawares. A human chess player becomes a master by honing the ability to look several moves ahead during a game-which is still no match for what a beholder can accomplish with its superior intelligence and awareness.
For instance, where a prideful, confident human might be cowed by a serious threat, the arrogance of a beholder knows no such bounds: it believes that it is superior to every other creature, even including other beholders. Some of the behaviors and motivations that beholders exhibit are analogous to those of humans and other intelligent creatures. Inside the comfortable confines of its subterranean lair, a beholder is nearly unassailable thanks to the combination of its peerless intellect and the brutal effects of its eye rays. These bizarre creatures are possessed of alien intelligence, inhuman forms of perception, and the ability to shape reality through force of will-or even by their mere presence. To those who would seek to conquer beholders or merely understand them, nearly everything about their quarry is unfathomable. Monstrous Compendium Vol 3: Minecraft Creatures
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